The Spaniard has agreed a two-and-a-half year contract at the City Ground, to become the permanent successor to Mark Warburton.

Chairman Nicholas Randall believes Karanka is the man to lead the Championship club into the Premier League.

"We are very pleased to have reached terms with Aitor Karanka to become the manager of Nottingham Forest. He is an exceptional candidate who fully subscribes to the vision of the club's owners and Board for the future of the club,” said Randall.

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"Our objective is clear: we want to continue building this fantastic football club and lead it to a bright future. The wonderful supporters of the club deserve success and a return to the Premier League. We are all working hard off the pitch to achieve this goal and we believe that Aitor will ensure that we can get the job done on the field of play.

"I want to thank Gary Brazil, his staff and the players for their professionalism and loyalty in the last few days. In particular, the performance against Arsenal was truly outstanding and shows the potential of this fantastic club."

Aitor Karanka

The former Middlesbrough boss was previously understood to be undecided about taking on the City Ground role.

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But Forest's persistence and patience have paid off, with the Spaniard now having agreed to take on the challenge of ending the Reds' Premier League exile. He will be in the dugout for the first time when Aston Villa visit the City Ground this weekend.

Karanka successfully steered Middlesbrough into the top flight 20 months ago, but was sacked in March as they struggled to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

He was at the Riverside for three-and-a-half years and had previously worked as assistant to Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid. The 44-year-old has also previously coached the Spain under-16 side.

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